Securing the transportation infrastructure has continued to be a focus of the private and public sectors. Contraband, such as illegal drugs and weapons, is continually smuggled across geopolitical boundaries and such illegal activities have an undesirable impact on society, including decreasing national security. In addition, theft of goods from private or public entities during transit also has an undesirable impact on societies or organizations, including significant economic impacts. Accordingly, reducing such illegal activities has vast benefits and highly desirable.
One component of the transportation infrastructure, which is generally susceptible to a myriad of threats, is the cargo container. There are numerous configurations of cargo containers that are available. For example, crates, boxes, or the like, having any shape and dimensions are available for transportation of goods. Furthermore, cargo compartments of a land, water, space, or air vehicles are also available for transportation of goods (e.g., automobile, truck, van, train, rail car, aircraft, ship, barge, trailer, rocket, or the like) and also available for transportation of passengers and/or goods.
Cargo containers are often unattended for significant periods and the vast number of such containers limits the number of containers that can be inspected at various points during transport. Therefore, there are significant periods in which theft or cargo tampering can occur. Moreover, a significant number of containers are not inspected at any time during transit or upon entering a port or border crossing so that entities have less than desirable control of their borders or facilities.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a security unit for a cargo container. In addition, it is desirable to provide a security method for a cargo container. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.